The magnetic switch is made up of flat contact studs, which are hermetically sealed in a glass tube filled with inert gas (reed contact). By bringing a permanent magnet close, the overlapping contact stud ends attract each other and spring together into contact. Upon removal of the permanent magnet, the contact studs demagnetise immediately and return to their rest position.
The air gap between the contact stud ends is only 0.2 ... 0.3 mm and, for the contact studs, the mass to be moved and their spring force are very small. Thus the magnetic switch switches with almost no inertia and one can consider it as a "quasi-electronic component".
These cost-effective magnetic switches, which are particularly easy to install, are excellently suited for the automation of processes and as position indicators for sliders, flaps and valves.
The reliability of these compact switches is ensured through their long electrical service life. Since the magnetic switches mostly consist of just one component, they are particularly safe in operation. In addition, special versions for extreme temperatures of -200 … +200 °C are possible.
